


if aught but death

by thecoquimonster



Category: Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9051028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecoquimonster/pseuds/thecoquimonster
Summary: "Are those not words of a marriage?"





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this little snippet a while ago and posted it to my Tumblr. I wanted to continue it and post the full thing here, but had no idea where to go off so I decided to let it stand on its own.

“Jem,” Will whispered right into his ear.  He pressed his face against Jem’s hair and kissed his temple before pulling back. Jem met Will’s eyes and smiled, waiting for him to continue. “James,” Will said again. He licked his lips and swallowed. “Would you be my _parabatai_?”

Jem blinked and sat up, staring down at Will. His chest tightened. He didn’t know why he felt this surprised. This was not the first time that Will had asked to be _parabatai._ All the other times, it had been while Jem was sick, slowly dying of an addiction he couldn’t be cured of. He knew that Will had wanted to be _parabatai_ because the bond might have helped make Jem stronger, and extend his life if only for a few months.

He’d refused each time.

He could not have been bonded to Will. Jem had been sick and dying. Will would have lost not only a lover, but a _parabatai_ as well. And that would have likely destroyed him. The ceremony would bond the two of their souls so intimately, and though Jem craved it at times, it would be a cruel fate to sentence to Will.

Never mind that they would have been breaking Clave Law. Romantic love between a _parabatai_ pair was strictly forbidden. And this wouldn’t be accidental. Jem and Will would walk into the ceremony knowing they would break the Law from the moment they drew the runes on one another. But that had always felt more like an afterthought.

Jem wasn’t dying anymore, and had never expected to hear the question again.

“I want to be your _parabatai_ ,” Will said now. He took Jem’s hand in his own and squeezed. “We turn eighteen in a few short months, and what will happen to us then? We receive our assignments and go off to other Institutes. Possibly never see each other again. I can’t allow it. I want to be your _parabatai_. I want to go wherever you go, I want to stand by you, I want to fight by you. I already love you as my own soul and I want to do it openly. I would marry you instead, if it was possible. But is not the _parabatai_ bond similar to marriage? _‘If aught but death part thee and me.’_ Are those not words of a marriage? Be my _parabatai,_ James.”

Jem sat up and shook his head, moving his hand away from Will’s. “Will, please think. The Law—if we get caught breaking it, your solution will be the very thing that gets us separated forever. I would marry you too, if I could. I love you. But this is dangerous.”

“Isn’t this worth the danger?” Will asked.

He leaned in and touched his forehead to Jem’s. He was so warm and Jem wanted to pull him closer, wanted to slide his hand to cup the back of Will’s head and tangle his fingers in silky black curls, wanted to kiss him.

Jem let out a sigh and closed his eyes. He thought about how for a little over three years, he had managed his addiction. It was dangerous to take too little of the _yin fen_. It was dangerous to take too much of it. And when Will revealed that he had a cure, it had been dangerous to take that, too. What was this, in comparison to what Jem had already faced? “Yes. It is.”

He kissed Will. He took Will’s face between his hands and kissed him. Will responded for a moment, leaning in closer. He broke away and let out a laugh that brushed against Jem’s face. Jem found himself grinning and he opened his eyes.

“You’ll be my _parabatai_ , then?” Will asked. His eyes held a rare sparkle; the question was for clarification only. It was clear that Will knew the answer already.

“Of course,” Jem said. He didn’t bother with talking about how they would need to be careful. It wasn’t something that needed to be said.

Will kissed him for a long moment, a burst of excitement that turned into lazy contentment. He pulled away and curled himself around Jem, who absentmindedly began to tangle his fingers in Will’s hair.

“Entreat me not to leave thee,” Will murmured.

Jem turned his head to see Will’s eyes closed. He was drifting off. Jem smiled and continued to pet Will’s curls, going through the rest of the oath in his head.  

**Author's Note:**

> The parabatai bond is a part of gay Shadowhunter culture. I should write more notes on this when I have the time/energy/creativity.


End file.
